


Otome on Ice

by Ethril



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: CEO Victor, Exposition, Game Testing, Gamer AU - Freeform, Gamer Yuuri, Gaming, Ice Skating, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Otome - Freeform, Romance, Slow Romance, Social Anxiety, Victor Being Victor, eros yuri
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-14
Updated: 2017-03-23
Packaged: 2018-10-04 23:26:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10292435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ethril/pseuds/Ethril
Summary: Yuri K is a famous independent game tester that has a reputation for finding bugs and glitches that no one else can. He works mostly online through the pseudonym Eros and only gives his real name when hired to test games.Victor is the CEO of a major gaming company in Russia. Currently his top team is working on an Otome style game that they hope to turn into a RPG MMO in the near future, but first they need to do some serious testing. Christophe suggests they bring in the game tester Eros, whom they have worked with in the past, in order to test the new game “Otome On Ice” .Yuri at first isn’t really interested in testing the Otome game as he prefers RPG’s or Sports games. He’s been getting bored lately and it’s only after Yuuko suggests he changes things up that Yuri agrees to test the Otome game.Little does Yuri know the majority of the characters that can be romanced in the game are based off of the real people that developed the game.





	1. Job Offer

**Author's Note:**

> Beta Reader is the wonderful Sugamama-Sama (love you)

 

 

 

As much as Yuri wanted to deny it, he was in fact one of the best game testers on the net. After years of building up his reputation in the gaming community for being able to find glitches and bugs that no one else could, Yuri was finally starting to feel comfortable with his abilities.

The vast majority of gamers didn’t even know who he really was though; only the developers that contracted out to him to test games knew who he was. To the rest of the world he was Eros and gamers knew if Eros had tested a game it would be absolutely amazing.

So when a request for his services came from Grand Prix Gaming Company Yuri wasn’t surprised. He’d worked with them in the past with several of their sports games that had recently become extremely popular.

The email came early one morning after Yuri had finished up helping his parents make breakfast for the onsen's guests. He had just been sitting down to play one of his favorite casual RPG’s when a bright ping sounded through his headphones.

With a bemused grin he opened the email from the Head Developer of GPGC thinking that he was being asked to test out a new sports game for them.

“Otome?” Yuri whispered with a deep frown. His mouse wheel spun slowly as he rolled through the email to read the details that Christophe had sent him. From what information the developer could give him, which wasn’t much since Yuri hadn’t signed a NDA yet, the company was hoping to turn the otome game into an mmo once the bugs were worked out of the code.

The black haired japanese man sat back in his cushioned computer chair to think. There were plenty of otome games on the net and most of them followed the same coding methods. Heck if Yuri wanted to he could probably write up his own otome. What made otome games fun were the art and the story telling. The idea of a mmo otome was definitely different, but without further details Yuri wouldn’t be able to figure out how good of an idea it really was.

Yuri scrolled back to the top of the email and read through it again as he considered the offer. The monetary compensation was the standard amount that GPGC usually offered and of course there was a bonus for if he finished testing early.

He didn’t need the money honestly. Yuri had made quite a nice sum on the last Legend of Zario game he’d been brought on to test. It wasn’t like he needed money for equipment either since a lot of sponsors gave him new equipment to try out and review. Mostly the money he made went into his family's onsen or into a savings account for future use.

At the end of the email was the usual time frame the company needed to hear back from him with his answer. The CEO wanted to push this game out as soon as possible so Yuri was only being given a week to decide.

For a moment Yuri spun around in his computer chair. He didn’t hate otome games, but he found them to be repetitious and boring after awhile. Since Yuri would be testing the game, and not just playing casually, he would have to play every route of the game multiple times on multiple settings.

“Boring.” Yuri mumbled with a deep sigh.

Then again if this game was actually being developed into a mmo there was a possibility that the game would have more depth compared to other otome games and there might even be an ai system.

He wondered if the mmo version of the game would run more like an rpg rather than an otome. An rpg styled otome would make sense.

Still...was Yuri willing to play a game based on romanticizing characters for days on end? Despite his pseudonym, Eros, he didn’t actually know much about love. His friend Phichit had chosen the name for him since Yuri had been so indecisive.

Yuri huffed in frustration and his nose wrinkled a bit as he realized he was putting too much thought into a simple decision. He’d been planning on unwinding with a single player rpg, but now he was in too much of a mood to play anything.

With one last glare at the email Yuri locked up his computer and got up to leave his room. As he left he grabbed a bag by his door intending to go to the ice rink nearby to relax. If nothing else he would at least be able to talk to Yuuko for awhile.

Once Yuri was at the ice rink he and his childhood friend were quickly discussing the job offer. It was early enough in the morning that it was just him and Yuuko.

“I don’t know Yuuko...I mean an otome game? Really?” Yuri asked as he lazily skated backwards across the ice. Yuuko had decided to stay off the ice for the moment. “Last time I played one it involved aliens and a very confusing plot.” He frowned a bit at the blurry figure that was leaning against the rink barrier. “Or was it demons? I don’t know it was confusing.”

Yuuko could tell that Yuri just wanted to vent as he worked out his frustration on the ice. She didn’t voice her opinion on the matter until he glanced at her for a third time.

“You said you were getting bored with the sports games.” Yuuko leaned away from the barrier before stepping out onto the ice to join her friend. “And that the rpg’s you’ve been playing have been pretty bland lately. Maybe this otome game is just what you need?”

Yuuko watched as her friend pushed off of the ice for a simple jump. Sometimes she wondered what would have happened if Yuri had decided to skate competitively. He had the skill, but during his first competition he’d had such severe social anxiety that he’d barely made it out onto the ice.

“But an otome? What do I know about dating and love?” Yuri whined as he skipped across the ice before stopping to dig his toe pick into the ice. “I was looking forward to taking a little break between games.”

The female skater rolled her eyes and went over to poke at Yuri’s shoulder. “Don’t break my ice Yuri.” She reminded him and didn’t take the pressure off of his shoulder until he relaxed his foot. “And you don’t need to know anything about dating. Just test the game like you normally do.” She smirked coyly at him. “And then tell me all the routes so that when it comes out I can play it.”

At least that little comment got Yuri to smile. “You know I can’t do that. NDA and all.” he sighed and ran a hand through his hair to push his bangs back. “Just wait till the guides are written. Or write them yourself.”

“It sounds like you’ve made up your mind.”

Yuri was halfway through pushing his bangs back when Yuuko’s words sank in. “Yeah.” He slid his hand back to rub at the back of his neck, his bangs falling back into his face. “I guess I’ll do it.”

His friend did have a point. Yuri was bored with all the typical games he tested so an otome would probably be a good distraction for awhile. If nothing else he would be able to zone out and not get frustrated if the controls stopped working. Sports games had a tendency to break their controls while in testing and when that happened Yuri couldn’t even properly run tests until a programmer fixed the issue.

The two friends spent a little longer on the ice before Yuuko’s three daughters decided to join them. Yuri laughed and lifted one of the triplets up to spin her around on the ice while their mother led the other two in chain.

By the time Yuri made it home he was physically tired, but in a good way. Sometimes he forgot how relaxing it was to physically work out, especially with all the hours he usually had to put into sitting in front of a computer.

One of the last things he did before collapsing onto his bed for a little nap was to send off a verification email to Christophe Giacometti that he would take the job and to send a contract over for Yuri to look over before he signed.

* * *

Over in Russia it was just past 4pm and Christophe was carefully going through the code of the otome game that Victor had been so excited about for the past year.

At this point though Chris wasn’t sure if Victor was more excited for the game itself or for the game tester that they were waiting to hear back from.

The game had barely reached the testing phase and within seconds of Chris suggesting they contact Eros to test it Victor had agreed wholeheartedly.

Chris’ phone started silently vibrating against his desk and he picked it up without even looking at the caller ID. “No Victor, Eros hasn’t responded yet.”

Even though both he and Victor knew Eros’ real name the contract they had signed to get Eros to work for them as a contractor had stated they only use the name Eros when referring to the game tester.

“Chriiiiis are you sure you sent the request?” A very Russian voice whined on the other end of the call. Chris rolled his eyes a bit and smirked at the mental image of Victor pouting. “We have to have him test this!”

Ever since the first game Eros had tested, a MMO RPG fantasy game, Victor had always requested the game tester be given one of the first opportunities to test a new game. His method of finding the bugs and glitches in a game, the notes he took, and the dedication he put into all his work was top quality. Ever since the company had started contracting out to Eros, Grand Prix Gaming had grown in popularity.

“I know we do Victor, but it’s only been a few hours.” Chris could almost feel the desperation coming out of the phone from his boss and friend. “For all we know he’s already testing a game for another company. It has happened.”

Being an independent game tester meant Eros often tested for multiple companies.

Christophe remembered the first time they’d contacted Eros to test one of their games. His name had just started popping up as a good game tester, but many companies had been afraid of corporate espionage and with Eros being independent those fears were valid.

In fact they had pulled the first offer they had put in front of Eros because he refused to sign a non-compete clause. When that game had flopped the GPGC had gone back to Eros for another game to be tested.

When the second game was ready to be tested Eros had gained a stronger reputation for being reliable and trustworthy.

“He’s Japanese Chris! Eros probably knows all about otome games!” There was a thud over the phone which made Chris chuckle.

“If you hit your head on the desk you’ll go bald faster.”

“I’M NOT GOING BALD!”

Chris rolled his eyes and was about to hang up when his email flashed on his second monitor. “Hold on.”

Having recognized the email address he quickly opened up the email. It was short and to the point, but it was definitely from Eros and he was agreeing to test the game.

“Better thank the demon you sold your soul to boss.” Christophe quickly attached the contract they usually used with Eros to the email and sent it off to the Japanese game tester. “I just sent the contract to Eros.”

He heard a cheer over the phone and the sound of a few things falling and scattering which probably meant the platinum blond Russian had probably jumped up to celebrate.

“Now let me get back to work. I’m doing a final code test on your otome game. The sooner I finish the sooner-” The line went dead and Chris shook his head at that.

When Victor had first approached the team about the otome game Chris had been all for it. He had even openly admitted to playing quite a few dating games for fun so he had a decent idea as to what would make the game fun. A few others had been hesitant. The company had never done anything with romance or dating; the closest they had gotten had been a marriage feature in one of their mmo rpg games.

What the Swiss man really wondered was why Victor had wanted to make an otome game.

It was true that many magazines, blogs, and entertainment news outlets had all called Victor a playboy. It wasn't a secret that Victor went through relationships quickly and that it was difficult for anyone to really keep a hold of the Russian man.

Victor had spoken to Chris in confidence that no one ever really interested him. He only dated because he disliked being alone.

  
So why was Victor so excited about making an otome game? When Chris had asked during one of the nights out Victor had simply shrugged and smiled.

It had only taken until the fifth prodding by Victor for Chris to figure out the real reason behind the Otome game. Christophe's theory only solidified when Victor suggested the characters be based on people that worked in the company as well as family and friends.

Sometime during all the times the company had hired Eros, Victor had become infatuated.

Once the characters had been chosen the people the characters had been based off of were given extensive interviews. Artists were brought in to design the characters. Some people chose to have their characters look as closely to them as possible while others decided to have some fun.

Christophe had decided to have his character look as closely to himself as he could while Victor decided to have a younger version of himself be designed.

Several authors were brought in to discuss the possible story line. Victor had been irritatingly picky about the story and had even gone as far as to write a large portion of it himself. Ice skating became the theme which surprised everyone but Chris.

Victor was a genius. Chris knew that the Russian man had gone through all of Eros' notes about the games he tested as well as the comments the man had made in the various chats and forums he frequented. Victor had come to the conclusion that the Japanese man had a background of dancing and that he knew a great deal about ice skating.

Since both Victor and Chris had skated in junior competitions years ago, which was where they had first met, they could recognize the knowledge that Eros used in his notes and comments.

So ice skating became an important part of the otome.

Victor had suggested they make the ice skating a part of a competition, but Chris pointed out that making the main character compete might actually detract from the romance aspect of the otome. The two went back and forth for a long time with the writers until everyone came to an agreement.

What really made the game unique, compared to other otome games, was the character creation. To try and make the otome as immersive as possible the team had decided to give the player the chance to completely customize their character. This customization would play a vital role in how they could romance the other characters in the game.

As Christophe thought about all this he wondered what Eros would think. He couldn't remember Eros ever reviewing or testing an otome game before so there was a chance he wouldn't even enjoy it.

It was highly possible that all the work Victor put into this game would result in Eros not even liking it. It was also possible that Eros might not even 'date' the game Victor.

Chris had triple checked the coding to make sure Victor wasn't the only choice Eros could chose. He chuckled as he considered the possibility of Eros dating his own character.

It was with a small sigh that Chris saved his work and closed what it was he'd been working on. The code was as good as it was going to get until it was thoroughly tested.

Chris was surprised to find he'd been working for a couple hours since Victor had last called so he decided to call it a night.

“Victor darling,” Chris called out once he made it to his bosses office. “Let's grab some dinner and go for a swim at my apartments pool.”

After he'd hung up from his conversation with Chris, Victor had actually started reading the financial reports that had been sent up to him. Despite his carefree and flirtatious nature Victor really did care a great deal about the company he had started.

That didn't mean he wasn't up for skipping reading boring documents in favor of having dinner with his closest friend.

“Have you heard back from Eros?” Victor asked as he grabbed his coat to join his friend in leaving.

Chris laughed and hugged his friend around the shoulders. “Give it time Vitya. We did contact him pretty early in the morning for him. Probably woke him up.”

Victor let out a long and agonized groan. “I hate time zones.”

“You and just about everyone else in the world.” Chis sympathetically pat at Victor's shoulder as they left the building their company was housed in. “Let's grab dinner.” 

* * *

Hey guys! Ethril here! I have a tumblr where I post updates on my writing! I also answer comments/questions over there faster than over here. [Ethrildragon](http://ethrildragon.tumblr.com/) Go check out my tumblr!

 


	2. Downloading. . .

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the otome game downloading so he can start working, Yuri reads through the tutorial to better understand what he is getting himself into. 
> 
> The Japanese gamer is amazed by how immersive and complicated this otome game is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still looking for a beta reader! 
> 
> Thank you Mythiedew, yukirina_tsukiforov (DraconisAvis), Irilya, and tbiris for commenting! And thank you everyone that left a kudos!

 

Yuri definitely felt better after his mid morning nap. If it weren't for the fact it was tourist season for Hasetsu and his parents needed help in the early mornings Yuri probably would have slept in. As it was a nap was the next best thing.

Once fully awake Yuri slipped on his glasses and began reading through the contract that Christophe had sent him. The entire thing was pretty standard, for the GPGC, and it included the few stipulations that Yuri always asked for.

The contract was one of the reasons Yuri was always willing to work with the Grand Prix Gaming Company. Sure Yuri had to sign a new one each time he tested for a new game, but it was better then being beholden to the company.

He read through it a second time, slowly, just to make sure nothing new had been added before adding his electronic signature.

For legal purposes the company did have another contract that Yuri had signed in the past that specified what was and what was not allowed between both parties when Yuri was being contacted for game testing. That contract had his actual signature.

With several quick clicks Yuri sent off the email with the signed contract and sat back. It took a little mental math, but he figured that he wouldn't hear back from Christophe until late afternoon. Even though it was noon for Yuri it was early morning for St Petersburg.

He supposed he could get some actual gaming in for awhile and write a couple reviews he'd been putting off.

Yuri switched his headphones so he was wearing his good gaming set with the mic instead of his standard set. Once the mic was adjusted, he logged into his skype intending on connecting with his friend Phichit.

Before he could even press the call button Yuri was receiving a call from that very friend.

“You know Phichit sometimes I wonder if all you do is sit there staring at skype until I log on.” Yuri commented as he moved the skype window to his secondary monitor.

His dark friend laughed and Yuri could see one of the Thai's hamsters squirming around on his shoulder. “Maybe I do, maybe I don't.” Phichit winked playfully. “You'll never know.”

Yuri smirked at that and rolled his eyes. “Do you ever sleep?”

“You sleep enough for the both of us!”

It was true enough. On his good days Yuri could maybe sleep for 6 hours and still feel refreshed. On his bad days though Yuri tended to sleep for ten hours or more. Unfortunately his bad days tended to outnumber his good days.

“So what has you up so early?” Phichit asked his normally nocturnal friend.

Yuri let out a long sigh as he slouched back in his seat. “Had to help with breakfast and early morning prep work. Then I got a job offer from GPGC.”

“Which meant you went ice skating to think about it.” The 20 year old Thai nodded to himself as he added that little bit. Seeing how Yuri was slouching and looking dejected meant the gamer was conflicted about this job offer.

“Have you been chatting with Yuuko again?” Yuri once again wished he had never introduced the two. Both Yuuko and Phichit were his closest friends, but it was never fair when they teamed up against Yuri.

Phichit laughed and shook his head. “Nah. I just know you.” He leaned forward on his hands, his elbows just barely missing his keyboard. “So what is it about this new job that has you all disoriented?”

Yuri rubbed at his neck in thought. “It's not my usual game. It's a dating sim and you know I'm hopeless with dating.”

“Hopeless is an understatement!” Phichit was laughing so hard he was almost falling out of his chair. “Remember the last gaming convention we went to? That girl was flirting with you SO HARD and you never noticed!”

“Don't rub it in!” Yuri was half tempted to just end the call.

At the last convention Yuri had been more interested in the games being showcased than the woman that had been trying to flirt with him.

“Can we just go and raid some dungeons or something?” Yuri asked with a quick huff. With all the games he'd been testing recently he'd been neglecting his normal games and now that he'd signed the contract to test the new otome game Yuri doubted he'd have the chance to do anything else.

“Sure, sure.” Phichit was instantly serious as he sat up straight and logged into their shared favorite mmo Rage of Tiamet.

Yuri was thankful that his guild was understanding of how busy his work kept him. Normally inactive members would be kicked out after a certain amount of time, but Yuri was one of the better players so they kept him around. It helped that whenever there was a particularly difficult dungeon all it took was a message from Phichit for Yuri to get on for a little while to help out.

“So about this dating sim.” Phichit stuck his tongue between his teeth as the two of them joined in on the current dungeon raid. “I thought GPGC did sports and RPG's? A dating sim doesn't sound like them.”

“Yeah.” Yuri let out a quick breath of irritation as Phichit brought the otome up again even though they were in a raid. “I think they're trying to branch out. GPGC has gotten pretty popular lately so it would make sense that they are trying to be more diversified.” Yuri dodged around a corner before shooting off a spell at an enemy. “Watch out.”

“But a DATING sim?” Phichit just couldn't believe it. “That's like a carnivore becoming a vegan!”

“It's not that big of a leap.” Yuri rolled his eyes at Phichit's over exaggeration.

“The point is,” the Thai paused so he could avoid an attacking monster. “A dating sim is not something that people would expect the GPGC to make.”

“Yeah.”

The two fell silent for a few minutes as they wandered the dungeon trying to find more monsters or loot.

“Typical NDA contract?” The question always came up whenever Yuri started work on a new game.

Yuri nodded quickly. “All I can tell you is that it's a dating sim and it's supposed to be really immersive.”

“Immersive means RPG.” Phichit said blandly as the group worked its way further into the dungeon. “Maybe that's how they're getting away with making it. It's an rpg disguised as a dating sim.” There were games like that out there; they just usually had other plots and goals besides the romance.

“Mm.” Yuri didn't even know much about the game to begin with so it wasn't like he confirm or deny Phichit's theories. “I won't know until I actually get the game.”

The two bantered back and forth for awhile until more guild members joined their voice chat. Once that happened any discussion about Yuri's job evaporated in favor of joking and messing around with their guild.

As was typical for Yuri and Phichit the two ran their raids for several long hours. Around 4 in the afternoon Yuri had to stop though when an email arrived for him from Grand Prix Gaming.

“It's been fun guys, but work calls.” Several of the guild members that had joined in on the intensive dungeon raiding whined and begged for Yuri to stick around longer. As infrequent as the Japanese gamer was on he was still one of the strongest players in the guild.

“Send me updates when you can!” Phichit waved through their skype feed before turning his attention to the guild members that were still begging Yuri to stick around. “Come on guys! Someone has to make the big bucks so we can afford to keep the guild running.”

Yuri left the group chat with a laugh and a shake of his head before logging out of the game. He closed out of skype with one last good bye to Phichit.

As much as Phichit joked that Yuri was the 'sugar daddy' of the guild the statement was pretty accurate. With how much Yuri made on a regular basis testing games, equipment, and writing reviews he could afford to sink a bit of money into his favorite games.

Heck Yuri had even renewed the subscriptions for several of the guild members that were known to have unreliable incomes. Yuri himself used games as an outlet for his anxiety and he knew several of his online friends felt the same way. If he could help them with at least one comfort why wouldn't he?

_Dear Eros,_

_Thank you for agreeing to test this new immersive otome game that Grand Prix Gaming Company has developed. Your contract has been sent over to HR and Legal so you're all set to start testing! Your advance should arrive in your account within the next 3 to 5 days._

_As per usual the game to be tested has been added to your company account along with all system requirements, setup instructions, necessary code files, and the basic game tutorial._

_Grand Prix Gaming Company is very excited for this game and we are looking forward to not only your skills as a beta-tester, but also your input on the game itself._

_If you have any questions or concerns about the game please contact me directly as I am the lead developer for this game and please forward all your notes and reports to both myself and programing team for this game at the end of each work day._

_Sincerely,_

_Christophe Giacometti_

_Lead Game Developer_

_Grand Prix Gaming Company_

Attached to the email was the temporary password for Yuri to use to get into his designated company account. Besides the one contract that GPGC kept on file, the company account Yuri used was the only other permanent thing connecting Yuri to the company.

Even before the company had explained why Yuri needed an account he understood why. They couldn't just send him the games he was to test in an email and snail mail was unreliable when being sent internationally. With a company account Yuri would have direct access to the servers so he could download what he needed to work.

The only thing that HR and Legal had requested was that the password for Yuri's account be changed at the beginning and end of each testing period. That way Yuri wouldn't have access to things he shouldn't.

Once logged into his account Yuri found the new game to be tested quickly enough. It was the only game he was testing for the company currently.

“Otome...on Ice?!”

The first email job offer that Yuri had gotten hadn't mentioned the name of the game, only that it was an otome.

Yuri felt like his heart was pounding and he had no idea why. There was no logical reason for Yuri to be blushing or for him to feel like sputtering.

Quickly he opened the game tutorial and read through the basic information available there.

The momentary trepidation and fluster that Yuri had felt from reading the title of the game faded. Relief flooded his senses as he came to the understanding that this wasn't a sports game like he'd feared.

The reason he'd agreed to testing this game in the first place was because he needed a break from sports games!

But according to the game info there would be ice skating involved and it would play an important part in the different routes that he could take in order to find his ideal love interest.

Yuri was curious as to why ice skating was a part of the otome. He had his guesses, as any decent gamer would, but he knew he wouldn't actually find out unless he asked the team developing the game directly.

Still Yuri made sure to add a little note into his comments to ask about the reason behind an otome with ice skating.

A couple years ago Yuri had actually tested a competitive ice skating game for the Grand Prix Gaming Company so he knew someone in the company had quite a bit of knowledge about ice skating.

Either that or they had brought in experts for reference.

He couldn't help but feel a little paranoid about any game with ice skating. When he'd attempted to compete in his younger years he'd gained a small fan base. With how bad his social anxiety had gotten Yuri had quickly backed away from the spotlight. The last thing he needed was for someone to find that dark part of his past.

The files that Yuri would need to download and install were huge, much larger than Yuri had first anticipated, and it would take an hour minimum before the game was ready to start.

“Might as well get those reviews out of the way.” Yuri rubbed at the bridge of his nose before he began working on the game reviews he'd promised for Morooka's article.

Writing the reviews went fast, which surprised Yuri, and the Japanese gamer found himself sitting and waiting for the download to complete. To try and keep himself busy Yuri decided to continue reading the tutorial for Otome on Ice.

_Otome on Ice is a new type of dating sim that integrates RPG mechanics and character creation to add a new dimension to romance and dating._

_At the start of the game the player will be given the chance to completely customize their character's gender and physical appearance. If the player is not comfortable putting that much detail into the character there is an option for reduced choices or randomized characteristics._

_From there the player will answer a series of questions to help develop their character's personality quirks. Afterwards you, the player, will have the chance to finalize small details such as your character's likes, dislikes, hobbies, etc._

_If a player is uncomfortable with the amount of detail in the questionnaire they will be given the choice to randomize their answers or to choose a shorter questionnaire._

_*Note to beta-tester: It will be hinted at in game, but not directly stated, that these choices and customization's will increase or decrease certain character's affection for your character at the start of the game. It is suggested you make multiple character save files so you do not have to fill out the same character multiple times*_

Yuri snorted at the notes that had been inserted for his sake. He wasn't a beginner, he knew to make multiple save files for a single game play.

“This is going to take forever.” Yuri mumbled as he realized just how much work had been put into this game. By the sounds of it there were so many customization options that Yuri would have to end up making hundreds of different characters just to fully test the game.

After a thought Yuri made a note to ask the team if there were any other testers working on this game. If he was the only one working on this game it would take months, if not a full year, before he was done testing every option, route, and combination.

At least he wouldn't be completely bored with the start of the game. Heck he could probably come up with a ton of outlandish characters just to see how broken the game would become. Then again with Chris as the lead developer Yuri wouldn't be surprised if the man had anticipated such a tactic.

This wasn't the first game Yuri had been brought in on that Chris was the lead on.

_After character creation you, the player, will be given the first route to chose from. The route you choose will determine the first love interests your character will interact with as well as the location you start in._

_*Note to beta-tester: You will not know who the possible love interests are and not all of them will be obvious. Some of the love interests won't even be available depending on your character customization. After your first few play throughs please contact the team for a cheat sheet so you know what characteristics will unlock all the love interests.*_

“Well that's different.” Yuri didn't play otome games often, but the few he had played had been pretty upfront about the love interests and who he could romance. “They really are trying to make this as immersive as possible.”

Complicated was another word Yuri would use for this game.

Then again with how saturated the gaming market was with otome games and dating sims it was obvious that the genre needed to be taken to the next level. A great deal of otome gamers had started complaining about how most of the games were just carbon copies of previous games and felt flat.

Just by the tutorial given Yuri could tell that Otome on Ice would be anything but flat.

_Otome on Ice will have an RPG element that can be easily felt through the inventory feature, ability to explore your surroundings, and the various stats that can change as the character progresses through the game._

_Unlike a typical RPG though Otome on Ice will be focused on the character's love interests and romance. Any side quest or side plot that may or may not come up will directly affect a love interests affection._

_*Note to beta-tester: Several of the side quests/plots will seem like they have no connection to the love interests, but each and every one will affect all the love interests in different ways (even the ones that aren't love interests based on character customization).*_

_There is currency in the game that can be used to buy gifts for potential love interests or to take love interests out on dates. Depending on the age you make your character you will either get an allowance from your family or a paycheck from your characters 'job'. As with typical otome games if you take a day to work extra hard you can make more money._

_If your character is not a student and has a job they will automatically work a certain amount of hours a week in order to earn money. You, as a player, can choose to either let time progress automatically or to go to work yourself and access potential love interest cut scenes and interactions._

Yuri was honestly getting pretty interested in the otome by that point. The more he read the tutorial the more he realized how much work had been put into the game. He wouldn't have been surprised if this game had been in development for the last couple years if the amount of detail was accurate.

He wondered if there was a chance in the game to get promoted at work and if that little fact would influence the love interests as well. He'd played an otome years ago where one of the love interests had been a serious workaholic and wouldn't take him seriously until he actively worked at improving his standing at work.

_The main game ends when your character unlocks an ending with a love interest. Route endings include good endings, neutral endings, bad endings, and a secret ending._

_*Note to beta-tester: If you wish to know what the 'secret ending' is before reaching it, or if you have trouble attaining it, please ask the team for a cheat sheet.*_

_After you have unlocked an ending there will be a cinematic epilogue that will play. The cinematic will be saved in the gallery that can be found at the games title screen. As soon as a cinematic, scene, or 'painting' has been unlocked and the game saved it will appear in the gallery._

_*Note to beta-tester: It is our hope to eventually turn this game into an MMO. After a player unlocks one of the endings (doesn't matter which) they will be given the option to upload their character data to the MMO server. From there the player will have the option of taking their love interest with them or to become 'single' so they can go on dates with other players. At the moment the MMO aspect of the game is not integrated and is still in development. Until the base game is fully tested the MMO aspect of the game will not be implemented._

And with that Yuri reached the end of the basic tutorial. He leaned back in his chair and stretched out his arms. He'd been sitting in the same position while reading for so long that he hadn't noticed how stiff his shoulders had gotten.

At least the download was done so Yuri could get started on the character creation. He opened up the code file onto his secondary monitor so he could keep an eye out for any anomalies as he played.

“Here we go.” Yuri took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he started the game. His primary screen darkened and at first all Yuri could hear was a gentle twinkling that developed into sweet and soft music. Snow flakes floated in the darkness of the screen and as they settled and stopped moving they formed the title of the game.

Otome on Ice

Will your love make history?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and Kudos feed my demons!
> 
> Demon status: Hungry, but not starving
> 
> Tumblr: [Ethrildragon](http://ethrildragon.tumblr.com/) I love questions!


	3. Character Creation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Character creation leads to an interesting development and revelation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a [tumblr!](https://ethrildragon.tumblr.com/) I post a lot of updates over there and I love taking questions!
> 
> I recently made[ Yuri!! On Ice Earrings!](https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChainedDragonWorks?ref=hdr_shop_menu) They're over in my etsy shop. 
> 
> Also. My dog has cancer. It's going to cost close to $700 to pay for the surgery. I hate to ask this, especially since you guys aren't here to hear about my woes, but could you awesome people go take a look at my etsy? What little I make there is currently going to go towards paying for my dogs surgery to remove the cancer. If you can't buy anything could you help by [ reblogging this post of mine?](https://ethrildragon.tumblr.com/post/158690585798/ethrildragon-hey-guys-so-last-week-i) to spread the word? It's fine if you can't! 
> 
> Enjoy this chapter! I'm working on the next one as we speak.
> 
> Also! My awesome beta tester is Sugamama-sama (love you!)

The title of the game blew away in a flurry of snowflakes only for the title menu to fade in from the dark background.

When Yuri turned up the sound of his headphones he could hear what sounded like ice skates cutting across ice underneath the gentle twinkling music. The scrape of blades against ice relaxed Yuri, and he smiled nostalgically.

It was a subtle touch that Yuri could greatly appreciated.

Still he couldn't just sit there and listen to the ice skating for hours on end. Yuri had a job to do, and he always enjoyed finding ways to break games. But he did make a note for the team that he enjoyed the opening to the game.

The first part of character creation was simple and reminded Yuri of just about every other RPG he'd ever played that had character customization. He could change his character's hair color, eye color, height, weight, add facial hair, tattoos or scars, and there was even a selection of accessories he could search through.

Since this was going to be his first play, through, Yuri decided to make a character as close to himself as possible. Since he was pretty oblivious to romance and flirting, it would be interesting to see how the love interests interacted with his character.

Yuri was tickled at the gender selection as well. Not only were there the two typical “male” and “female” options, but the developers had also added a couple of non binary choices. That was definitely something Yuri didn't typically see in games; even games with seriously complicated character customization.

Once he got his character as close to his actual appearance as possible, Yuri clicked on the continue button so he could start the questionnaire.

He'd honestly been expecting a simple “here's the question choose the best answer” thing. Instead, a man wearing a dark gray suit jacket and white pants walked onto the screen.

“ _ Hello there!” _ The man winked at Yuri before flipping the end of his ponytail over his shoulder so that it fell against his back.  _ “You must be our newest ice skating pupil! I'm Coach Celestino.” _

Yuri really hadn't been expecting an interactive questionnaire.

The onscreen Celestino pulled out a binder and clicked a pen before pressing the tip against the paper there _. “I just have a few questions before we can hit the rink so you can meet the other coaches, instructors, and other students.” _

Yuri really got a good look of the man as the character on screen sat on an invisible stool, one leg crossing over the knee of the other,.

Even though Celestino was the only visual game graphic so far, he'd been rendered very well. Whenever the man smiled, the creases just below his eyes would become more pronounced. Yuri took note of Celestino's prominent Adam's apple, strong square chin, and angular cheek and jaw bones. Even his eyebrows had been carefully designed and rendered!

At first the questions seemed innocent enough, pick the best choice, questions. Slowly though the questions started becoming...dubious.

“ _ How well would you say you hold your liquor?” _

The question surprised Yuri for a moment, and he had to wonder if that was even a suitable question to be asking. It only dawned on him after a moment that he was probably being asked that question because he'd set his age in the adult bracket.

“ _ A- No amount of drinking can unbalance you.” _

Yuri snorted softly at that.

“ _ B- After a few glasses you feel great, but still fairly in control.” _

That still didn't sound like him; at least according to the stories Phichit had told him.

“ _ C- All your inhibitions go out the window after a bottle of champagne. _ ”

Now that sounded like Yuri. Phichit had shown him pictures of some of the things the Japanese gamer had done after a night of drinking. It was unfortunate that Yuri had taken after his father when it came to just how drunk he could get.

“ _ Or D- You don't dri-” _

Yuri clicked C before Celestino could give the final choice. If he was going to be creating a character that was as close to the real thing as possible, then Yuri was going to be honest with his answers.

“ _ Alrighty then.”  _ Celestino made a note on his notepad before continuing.  _ “Let's get a little more personal shall we? When describing your past relationships would you say you: _

_ A- Have met all the fish in the sea, but still don't feel like settling down. _

_ B- Have dated a few people, but have yet to find your special someone. _

_ C- Fall in love easily, but, when you do, you tend to stick with your partners for long periods of time. _

_ D- Have never dated or tried to date. _

_ E- Prefer not to answer. “ _

Before Yuri could even think about it he clicked on E. After he made the selection, he wondered if perhaps he should have chosen D.

“What are these questions?!” Yuri asked himself as he felt his cheeks get warm. He understood this was an immersive character customization, but were some of the questions really necessary?

“ _ Just a few more questions and then we can get going.”  _ Celestino tapped his pen against the binder as if to get Yuri's attention.

Thankfully the last few questions weren't as invasive, even if they were odd.

“ _ Alright then! Feel free to fill in the hobbies, likes, and dislikes as we head over to the rink.” _ Celestino picked up the binder and made a gesture as if he was handing it over to Yuri.

As Yuri watched the screen, the avatar he had previously designed for himself stepped forward to take the binder.

For barely even starting the game, Yuri was already enjoying the graphic detail that had been put into it. The Japanese man idly wondered just how many artists had been involved with this project.

Yuri chuckled a bit as he typed in what he enjoyed and disliked. The boxes he typed into acted as a search feature to find the closest match to his interests. When he typed in 'dogs,' a few breeds popped up for him to choose from, if he wanted. When he spotted an option for a poodle, Yuri chose that instead of just 'dogs'.

He had fun typing in random things to find out what options he was given to choose from. “These guys really put a lot of time into programming all of these little details.” It was a statement of fact that Yuri would put into his notes later, once he was done working.

Once he was done filling out the last few things on the character customization, Yuri clicked on the next button.

“ _ Ready to head for the rink? Or perhaps you're exhausted from your long flight?”  _ Celestino asked as the scene changed to that of the two of them in a car driving down the streets of a European styled city.

“This must be my first route choice.” Yuri grinned as several options popped up for him to chose from. He was given three choices. The first was the obvious route which would take him to the ice rink where, Yuri was sure, he'd meet the majority of his love interests. The second was the hotel Yuri was apparently staying at until he could find an apartment to move into. The last choice was the one that Yuri was actually curious about.

“ _ What's a Banya?” _ Yuri didn't actually know very much Russian, so the option seemed to be the most interesting.

“ _ A banya?”  _ Celestino looked back at Yuri in the car before grinning. “ _ It's a bathhouse! It's a great place to go to relax. Lots of steam.”  _ Celestino let out a happy sigh as he continued to describe the destination. “ _ You can even get great massages at a lot of the banya's in St Petersburg.” _

Since his family owned an onsen, Yuri was curious to see what a 'bathhouse' in another country would look like. And since he couldn't exactly travel to Russia to find out, he supposed the best he could get would be the banya in the game.

“ _ Could we go to one? Relaxing after my flight sounds nice.” _

Celestino let out a hearty laugh before grinning and nodding. “ _ I imagine it does! I'll take you over to the Yamskie Banya. I think it's the best in the city.”  _ Celestino winked at Yuri before changing direction with the car.

As was something that Yuri typically did, he began to mentally take a part the storyline of the game. From just the little interaction he'd had with Celestino in the character customization, Yuri had learned that his character was in Russia for school. It didn't exactly explain why Yuri's character was taking skating lessons, but it would probably be revealed later on.

The scene changed with the rev of an engine, and soon enough, they pulled up to an older looking building with rounded walls and intricately placed brick work. Antique looking iron street lamps lined the sidewalk where they pulled up.

“ _ I've got some errands to run, but you should be fine. Just tell them you're my student, and they'll let you right in.”  _ Celestino smiled at Yuri before waving him out of the car. “ _ You have my number. When you're ready for a pick up, just give me a call.” _

And with that, Yuri was out of the car and standing in front of the bathhouse. Surprisingly enough, Yuri was given two choices as his character idled outside. His first was to go in, and his other was to explore outside.

“Might as well see what's so special about this 'banya'.” Yuri mumbled. Just in case, though, Yuri made sure to make a save file.

After a few more selections and character interactions, Yuri's character ended up in a steam room wrapped in a towel.

Yuri found the Russian bathhouse interesting. In his family's onsen, there wasn't really a 'steam room' where people could just sit back and relax. There were stools people could sit on, but nothing like the long wooden benches that wrapped around the wall of the steam room.

There was a mini game for Yuri to play, and he had fun tossing water onto the coals for a few minutes.

“ _ Well! You're a new face!” _

Yuri had been so involved with hitting the right buttons to throw the water onto the coals that he had completely missed the new character entering the steam room.

The steam made it difficult to see the new comer at first. The outline of the person was masculine without any obvious curves. Yuri was glad he wasn't actually in the steam room himself, otherwise his glasses would have been completely steamed up.

“ _ And so cute too!” _

At last, the steam cleared enough for Yuri to see who it was that was speaking. Standing there in nothing but a towel wrapped loosely around his waist was a tall foreigner with long platinum blonde hair. The man's eyes were the the brightest blue that Yuri had ever seen, and his grin was both playful and warm.

“ _ I'm Viktor!” _

Yuri felt himself flush brightly as the man in the game winked at him and then sat down next to Yuri's character.

“Well he's obviously a love interest.” Yuri said blandly as he noticed just how close Viktor was sitting. Between the two of them sitting on the bench there were only a couple of inches.

Something, a memory probably, wiggled in the back of Yuri's mind as he really looked at the Viktor in the game. He looked...familiar.

For a long time Yuri just sat there staring at the computer screen while he tried to figure out just who this character reminded him of. Was it possible that the in game Viktor was based on the junior ice skating champion Victor Nikiforov? They did look similar, but there were a few differences. For one thing, Viktor's hair was more blond rather than the silver of Victor's hair. The game Viktor was physically older than the Junior and had more pronounced cheekbones and a square jawline.

“What if he is?” Yuri mumbled as he just stared at the Viktor in the game.

It'd been years since Yuri had stepped away from professional ice skating; he'd never even made it past his first Junior Competition. Victor Nikiforov had retired shortly before starting his senior debut.

Yuri and his friend Yuuko had both been heart broken when the amazing Russian skater had announced his retirement. After that, though, the skater had practically vanished. There were rumors that he lived in a mansion somewhere with a secret wife.

“I wonder.” Yuri got up and went over to his closet where he kept the box full of his old Victor posters and photos. He dug around for awhile until he found a poster from Victor's final year of skating.

When held up to the screen and compared, Yuri could instantly see the similarity between the two that hadn’t at first been obvious.

Those brilliant blue eyes staring back at Yuri were what sealed the deal for the Japanese gamer.

Instantly Yuri closed out of the game without thinking or saving. Yuri could feel his heart pounding in his chest as it really hit him that Victor Nikiforov was a love interest in the game he was testing.

Who could Yuri talk to about this?! With the NDA he had signed Yuri couldn't go and reveal this revelation to anyone! But...what about Christophe? Yuri could email him and ask about it at least.

Before Yuri could really consider his course of action he had opened up his internet browser and typed out a short and simple email to the lead developer of the game. 

Back in Russia a chime from Chris' computer pulled his attention away from the reports he was reading. Assuming it was from one of the developers on his team, or another email from Victor, Chris opened it without thinking.

“ _ Mr. Giacometti, _

_ It's Eros. I was wondering if the Viktor in the otome game is based off of the Ice Skater Victor Nikiforov?” _

“Well, well.” Chris was both intrigued over the short email that had been sent by Eros. The gamer wouldn't have had time to really get too far into the game, but the fact that he'd already run into Viktor surprised Chris.

The Swiss man had worked hard to make 'Viktor' difficult to find and even harder to romance. Very specific customization choices had to be made during character creation in order to trigger Viktor's appearance early in the game.

“ _ Hello Eros! _

_ I am very surprised that you were able to find that connection! Are you an Ice Skating fan by chance? _

_ Several ice skaters, both junior and senior, have been included in the game. Seeing as how you were able to identify Victor I'll go ahead and give you the list of ice skaters in an attachment. “ _

Quickly Chris typed up the list of the included ice skaters and sent the response off to Eros.

In no time at all, Yuri had the email response from the lead developer. He winced as he realized he had revealed something about himself by asking Chris about the connection. He'd been careful for years to keep his personal information as secret as possible.

Out of curiosity, Yuri opened up the list that had been included and scrolled through it. He recognized a vast majority of the names, but when Yuri came to one name he practically yelled.

Yuri dove for his cell phone, only to knock it onto the floor. He scrambled to chase after it, only for the device to hide under Yuri's desk almost gleefully.

After hitting his head a few times and cursing loudly, Yuri finally got his phone. He quickly punched in a single number and waited all of a few seconds before the person on the other end answered.

“Konnichiwa, Yuri!”

“Phichit!” Yuri practically yelled as he rubbed his head. “Why didn't you tell me you were made into a character in a game?!”

“Ooooh...yeah...that...” Yuri could practically hear Phichit rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. “I couldn't tell you! You know how NDA's work!”

Yuri groaned and cursed softly. “A few hours ago you pretended to know nothing about it! You acted all surprised to know that GPGC had even made one!”

“I claim NDA!”

“Bullshit.” Still Yuri understood. They had been talking about the game while online where other people would be able to hear them.

“Soooo does this mean you found my character?” Phichit asked coyly.

“No, Phichit.” Yuri rubbed at his nose as he deflated after the mad scramble to call his friend. “I found Victor.”

“Juicy!” Phichit grinned. “Switch over to face time, Yuri!” There was a click, and Yuri lifted his phone away to switch over to join his friend. “Ok! I don't actually know much about the game. Honestly!” Phichit quickly explained as he looked at his scowling friend. “I only know a little about my own character!”

“So you didn't know about Victor?” Yuri asked with a deep frown.

The Thai gamer shook his head fiercely. “Nope! They contacted me over a year ago about this game and asked if they could make a character based on me. We did the entire interview right before the cup in China.”

Yuri had given up his dream to become a top ice skater when he'd been young, but Phichit had stuck with the dream. The two only knew each other because they'd been roommates in Detroit while Yuri had been at school for his computer science degree and his minor in dance.

“Wait...” Celestino...that name! “Your coach is in the game too?” Yuri asked with a groan.

“Ciao Ciao? He is? That's so cool!”

Just how many people in the game would Yuri actually know?

“So are you gonna romance my character?” Phichit made a kissy face and winked at Yuri which made the Japanese gamer roll his eyes. “Why not? We'd make a cute couple!”

“Don't make this weird, Phichit! I'm half tempted to return the money I've been paid and tell them I've changed my mind.” Even though the GPGC didn't know who Yuri was the game he was testing for them hit a little too close to home for him.

Phichit pouted before giving his friend the biggest smile. “Don't do that! You've never given up on a game before! Just imagine the hit your reputation will take.”

Yuri's reputation was just as important as his anonymity. If he gave up testing this game, the GPGC would be forced to give him a bad rating, and that would make it more difficult for Yuri to get future jobs.

The gamer hoped beyond hope that there were other testers for the game so he wouldn't be forced to romance his best friend.

“Yuri?”

Yuri had zoned out so much with his own thoughts that he'd forgotten about his call with Phichit.

“Come on, Yuri! Talk to me.”

“You swear you didn't know about Victor being in the game?” Yuri asked with narrowed eyes.

Phichit held up his free hand. “I swear on my pride as a gold medalist!”

With a huff Yuri stopped scowling and sat back in his very comfortable seat.

“Forgive me?” Phichit pouted cutely and gave Yuri the biggest dark eyes possible. When his friend finally nodded, he let out the breath he'd been holding. “I really am sorry for not telling you, Yuri. But you of all people know how important NDA's are. I'd rather not risk my career.”

The two chatted for a little while after that. Phichit filled Yuri in on his part in the game and his trip to Russia in order to get his character made for the game. The Thai skater was hoping that, by being in the game, he'd help make skating popular in his home country.

When the call ended, Yuri leaned back in his seat and just stared at his computer. He hadn't put that much time into the game yet, and he probably should so he'd have a decent amount of info for his daily report.

With a sigh, Yuri opened the game back up and winced as he remembered how he had panicked and closed the game without saving. Thankfully, he'd saved the game right before entering the bathhouse, so it wasn't like he'd lost all that much data.

The question was, should he go back into the bathhouse or deviate from that and explore the area outside the bathhouse?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and Comments feed my demons!
> 
> Demon status: Content
> 
> I have a [tumblr!](https://ethrildragon.tumblr.com/) I post a lot of updates over there and I love taking questions!


End file.
